Frankenstein 80 (1972)

When I do my "What Movie Wednesday," I find myself struggling to find witty, funny, or informative things to tweet as I'm watching the winner.  Other times... the movie provides fuel for tweets that have people crying from laughter...

A serum that could help transplant patients has been stolen and beautiful women are being murdered- with their organs removed.  An investigative reporter becomes involved in the case and finds that a respected doctor has a dark secret to hide...

This was a fun movie to tweet along to- but mostly because there was so much to poke fun at.  This reworking of the classic "Frankenstein" story does a decent job storywise, but does suffer from some serious holes in its logic.  For instance, if the serum is so important, why is it kept in a beaker in an unlocked fridge in  its creator's office?  How did Frankenstein manage to construct a secret lab in the hospital where he works? How was he able to get the body parts without people thinking something weird was going on?  How does the monster keep escaping so easily?

The characters, while not very deep, were decent enough for the story.  I liked the detective who decided he wouldn't smoke again until the case was solved, and Frankenstein's niece.  The only problem I had with the niece was the fact that she was more or less just a love interest for the reporter... and a damsel in distress.  I would've liked her to be a bit stronger than fainting in the hero's arms.  You're not meant to really like Frankenstein, or the monster- though you do feel some sympathy for the monster.  Not a lot, but some.

I enjoyed the acting- as over the top as it was in some respects.  Most of the over the top acting came from Gordon Mitchell who played Frankenstein, but since he's a little demented, it's to be expected.  Renato Ramano as Inspector Schneider was both funny and serious- a nice blend that made his character more likeable.  Dalia Di Lazzaro (credited as Dalia Parker) as the niece looked good.  John Richarson as the reporter was bad either, but didn't change his facial expression much during the movie.  The real props go to Xiro Papas who played the monster, Mosaic.  He didn't have much dialogue, and had to say a lot with just his gestures and stance.

While there are some awesome shots in this film- mostly close-ups, the general camera work is average.  There are some really good uses of shadows in some of the scenes.  The kills were well done- I especially liked the public bathroom one where the monster pretty much mashes a guy's face into a wall.  Nice use of blood in this movie.

What really made tweeting for this movie fun was a combination of two scenes.  The first involves Frankenstein operating on the monster and verbally outlining the procedure in which he transplants new testicles to the monster.  The next scene, what does the monster do?  Hires a hooker.  That bit there provided me with so many jokes, it was ridiculous.  Loved it.

Should people give "Frankenstein 80" at least one watching?  Definately!  It is a movie I would watch again? Hard to say, actually.  I just might, to be honest.  Because I might, I'm going to put this movie in The Good.

Special Shout Out:

I want to thank everyone that voted in this week's "What Movie Wednesday"- especially those that voted for "Frankenstein 80":

Redfeather Freeman
Tanya Marie
Zoey Emily Onyx
Justine's Halloween

The next "What Movie Wednesday" will take place 6th February 2013!

And don't forget to join me Friday nights at 7:00 pm (PST) on Twitter (@camethebasement) as I tweet along to NON-horror movies!